Hearing Clearly

It is amazing how clearly I can hear God now that I am following all the things I need to be doing. Those things mainly consist of tithing faithfully and seeking Him first. I have always known that He says to test Him on the tithe to see if we can out-give Him and the few times that I did test, He did out-give. He didn't out-give by much but it was always more. He did out-give in different ways though, and none more awesome then when He answered my prayer for snow on Christmas Day. I didn't actually pray directly for snow, all I said is, "Man, Christmas would just fell more like Christmas if it snowed!"

Well, on a day that the weathermen gave a zero percent chance of snow, the Lord gave me a white Christmas for the first time in my life. It was awesome. My kids and I put on our snow clothes as soon as possible and had a great time. I was able to take some great pictures with our new camera and all was good.

I also started listening to Him after 30 years and I started getting up early (this morning I got out of bed at 4:00 am) and sought Him first. He wants the first part of our day just like He wants the first part of our finances. He wants this, not because He is jealous or needs the cash, but because He wants us to have the right heart so He can bless us. Tithing and rising up early is about our attitudes and our heart towards Him. Do we expect to be blessed by Him? If so, why wouldn't we listen to Him telling us what we need to do to get those blessings.

His heart is that He pours out His blessing in a way that our storehouses will be overflowing. He cannot do that though if we are not ready to receive them. By tithing, we are acknowledging that all that we have comes from Him. He is just asking us to give back 10% of what is already His. Waking up early not only tells Him that He is first in our lives, it is the best part of the day to hear Him most clearly.

The first moments after we wake up are the least distracted in our day. We have not had a chance to watch TV, go online, read the paper, have conversations, or deal with traffic. He can get us while our minds are fresh and rested and distraction free.

This past week, He grabbed my attention and showed me a verse that is one that I will hold onto for the rest of my life. 1 Corinthians 2:5 says, "put not your faith in the wisdom of men but rather, in the power of God." God is powerful. He created the universe and holds it in the palm of His hand. He formed man out of dust and breathed life into us. He parted the Red Sea and made the Sun stand still. Think of what He can do in each of our lives if we just give Him what little He asks of us.

I have a feeling that He is going to open up the flood gates and pour out His blessings on me and my family. The reason for this is the power that I have realized He is capable of. I am ready to test Him and see if I can out-give Him. I think I can do it. I am sure He will prove me wrong though.